Stand Alone
by imadoodlenoodle
Summary: You must understand, my master told me to keep his home safe. I'm doing what he ordered. Unfortunately, people won't just stay away. **Minimal D/G action**


The young female with the fiery hair looked angry. She does not want to be here. Good. I do not want her here. Or him. Or her, and her, and her, and him, and him, and him, and her—too many. Too many, too many. There should be no one. None. Guard our home in all the ways you can, Master said. I shall guard.

The problem is, though, no one can listen to me. And so my attempts at keeping people away have become rather different to the conventional methods. Instead of creating a 'scary' atmosphere, for instance, I have gone slightly further.

The Master required him home to be kept safe, and I shall obey. Whatever the cost.

This home has now been widely accepted as being haunted by truly malignant spirits. If that is what they want to believe. As it is, this is the third group of people who hope to drive away our 'spirits.' I don't think they will succeed.

I will make sure they don't.

* * *

They've all gathered in the parlour. I see them scrunch their noses in disgust at the dust, sniff at the air and smell the scent of a long-gone past. I can't bring the family home. I can't create life for this home. I can keep the home safe.

The one who scrunches his nose the most, his disgust seems to hide his sadness. It is there, hard to see, but there nonetheless. I think he might understand. There was a family here, I wish to shout at them. This old house was loved! I saw the family grow, from two to five, on and on through the years. Until there were four. And then they were gone.

And there was no one.

But me.

* * *

Three of them are in the kitchen, cooking something for them all to eat. I cannot smell what he is cooking, but it is in a large pot. A stew, perhaps? It doesn't matter.

It has been a long time since anyone has come to this old house. At least five falls of the autumn leaves.

My magic grows low.

The two girls leave the kitchen and rejoin the others in the parlour. They are all spread around a map of the house and its grounds.

The man in the kitchen stirs the food and whistles a jaunty tune.

They point at the map, jabber and talk over each other. The male with colourless hair says nothing. He just looks.

The man in the kitchen adds salt to the pot.

They quieten down and the colourless man speaks. His voice is balanced, controlled, authoritative. He is the leader.

The man in the kitchen stirs absentmindedly.

The kitchen isn't far away from the parlour. It is too far, though, for a rescue.

The first one was an accident. I felt the magic slowly leaving me, and I was so _desperate_, so filled with a desire to not lose it that I, well... I don't know exactly what I did. All I know is that ever since the first, I now have an option to stop the magic leaving. And I have to keep my magic. For my family.

He points at the map and splits it up into sections and decides who shall be going where.

No one stirs the pot in the kitchen. The only sound is the bubbling from the pot. Only bubbling.

* * *

I don't like to draw it out. I like to get them all out of the way as soon as possible, but, unfortunately, two enter the kitchen to see what is taking so long. The one with hair of fire does not make a sound. The one with hair of night, however, does. A loud, piercing scream fills the air. It escapes the kitchen and thrusts through the halls, reaching ears as it barges into the parlour. It is so good to hear the sound of screaming filling the air. It is not the usual screams of joy, but after hearing only silence for so long, I can accept the shrieks of grief.

The ones in the parlour jump up. Confusion, bewilderment, concern—the list goes on of the expressions they were displaying. The colourless one said nothing and revealed nothing. He left the room, with the others quickly following. He walks quickly down the halls, around the corner and through the kitchen door. The others all get through the door before the leader stills in his walk. He stares at the fiery girl comforting the other. The other girl has fallen to the floor by now and is releasing wetness from her eyes. The comforter merely looks up, distant, but saying so much with her eyes.

The leader makes a decision. The ideas spin in his head and he lands on one, which he believes to be the best.

He orders everyone out.

They comply with his orders and leave, shutting the door behind them. He waits a moment before stepping forward and coming down to the females' level. He asks them if they saw anything, and, of course, they say no. They arrived too late. The one who was crying so much has fallen silent and begins to shake. The male pulls out his wand and utters a spell. It causes her to stop moving completely and slump on to the floor. The other girl glares up at him and says that she could have been calmed down, but, then again, what did she expect from Draco Malfoy.

He is Draco Malfoy.

Draco Malfoy stares at her for a moment, before telling her that it was just easier, and, really, he doesn't know what she was expecting.

I want someone to say her name. I want to know her name.

She shakes her head and rises, opening the door and levitating the girl out of the room. Draco Malfoy watches her go, watching her turn the corner before he moves again. He closes the door.

He walks over to the pot and looks around it.

He sees the pile on the floor.

"Dust?" he wonders aloud.

"No," I silently reply.

He dips his finger into the pile and brings it up to his nose to smell it.

He freezes. "Not dust," he says.

No, not dust.

"Adam? How?"

His name was Adam. Adam whistled while he worked.

* * *

They ate dinner in silence. After that they looked over maps, books and fiddled with things. I do not think they had a productive evening.

They had planned to use some of the rooms upstairs to sleep in.

Tonight they all sleep in the parlour.

And so they sleep.

It is weird to have so many here again. I watched them sleep. Some sprawled out, others held themselves close. They all slept on the outskirts of the room, hugging the walls. I watched them breathe, in and out, for hours and hours until the dark started leaving the sky.

One sat up and looked at her watch. She saw it was the middle of the morning. She can't wake anyone up. It would be annoying. Besides, it's only down the hall.

She was being silly.

She said some words and the end of her wand lit up.

She got out of her sleeping bag.

Put some slippers on over her socks.

Pulled on a dressing gown.

Treaded softly across the room.

Reached out for the doorknob.

"Where are you going?"

More light lit the room and a man sat up in his bed. It was not Draco Malfoy.

"I'm going to the toilet," she said.

"You can't go alone Nancy," he said back. "You know what Malfoy said."

"Go back to bed; I'll just be a minute."

"Not after Adam," he replied, and also climbed out of his sleeping bag.

"Darren you don't need to."

Darren looked at her and she stopped talking.

She waited by the door for him and they left the room together.

The walked down the hall in silence and stopped outside of the toilet.

The girl went in and Darren waited outside.

She locked the door.

Darren lent against the wall and closed his eyes.

She's locked the door.

Darren is just outside.

Nancy wasn't being silly.

Darren knocked on the door after a minute. "Nancy, are you okay?"

After no reply, he knocked harder. Then he spoke louder, knocked urgently, spoke urgently. Light flooded the hall. Others arrived.

"What's going on?" Gordo asks.

"Nancy's in there. She won't answer."

Draco Malfoy arrived, pushed Darren aside and yelled out a spell. The door was blasted open.

Draco Malfoy entered the toilet. He knelt down and illuminated the floor.

He closed his eyes and swore.

There was a little pile.

Her name was Nancy. She needed the toilet.

* * *

In the morning they all wake quietly. They get dressed, shower, and eat breakfast. They make hardly any noise. But there is still noise, nonetheless. A little noise is much more favourable than the lack of noise there has been.

The one with the darkest of hair has been making much noise. She cried most of the night, and, to me, the delight of hearing humans again smothered the concern and guilt I may have felt. Even now she sniffles. It reminds me of when the children had colds. They would spend a number of days sniffling before getting up and running around again. I don't think she will be running around.

Draco Malfoy took charge again. He took one of the other men to the side of the room and began whispering. Annie hasn't been coping very well, apparently. In fact, Draco Malfoy doesn't want her here where she would be useless and too dependable. The other man mentions Adam, and Draco Malfoy glares at him. While the rest of the group is looking for 'spirit hotspots', Gordo is going to be taking Annie away.

She's leaving.

That's good, one less to worry about.

She makes little fuss when Gordo comes and tells her. She nods quickly and begins packing up her things. The rest of the group stand around the room, looking uncomfortable. Draco Malfoy starts splitting them into pairs so that they can cover more ground. He reminds me of my Master. He, too, was very in control.

The pairs wander off. One man and one woman in each. Draco Malfoy goes with the red-haired woman, and the other two go with each other. Draco Malfoy leads his partner to the top level and informs her that they'll be going into the attic first. They fight for a moment, using knowledge I do not know. They mention the word 'potter' a lot, but eventually Draco Malfoy grows impatient and waves his wand at her. She flies into the attic through the opened hatch. She didn't seem to like it much.

The other couple start on the first floor, moving between the bedrooms, nursery, playrooms, cupboards and bathrooms. They come across the old servant's staircase, but ignore it.

Gordo and Annie leave the parlour. Annie has a bag on her back, and Gordo has a hand on her arm. They leave the room slowly. They continue walking slowly through the foyer and through the front door. They are just reaching the apparition boundaries when Annie mentions her lost bracelet.

She left it on the table near the bookshelf. It would only take him a minute. She would wait here. Be still. Not move. She'd be safe now. She wasn't inside.

Gordo watched her as he walked back inside. When he reached the front doors, he took one last look before running back to the parlour, grabbing the bracelet, and running back out to Annie.

Annie stood still, like she promised, waiting for Gordo. All she needed was her bracelet and she'd be ready to leave.

Annie was leaving.

But.

My magic was low.

She was leaving.

But.

Gordo came barrelling back outside, relief lighting his face when he saw Annie standing still, like she had promised.

Gordo passed her the bracelet and walked her to the boundary line. He hugged her and asked if she would be okay on her own. Annie called him a good friend, but declined his offer. After that, Gordo stepped away from her and said goodbye.

Annie nodded once before spinning and disappearing, leaving Gordo watching the empty space she had left alone.

All alone.

The problem was that Annie was leaving. Gordo wasn't.

His name was Gordo. He was a good friend.

* * *

They didn't find any 'hotspots' in the attic, nor on the second or the first floor. They were currently searching the ground floor, but still they were finding nothing. Understandable, after all, there were no 'hotspots' to be found.

When Gordo couldn't be found, Draco Malfoy said that it was unlikely they would find him, and that they should spend their time 'sorting this place out, not searching for someone who won't be found.' He is clever, that Draco Malfoy is.

So they split the grounds in half. Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley—that was her name, Draco Malfoy had called her that during one of their arguments—were going to be searching the buildings, the stables, the old chapel, the summerhouse and all the rest. The other two, Darren and Rachele, would be searching everywhere else.

I think that means they'll be searching the trees for these 'hotspots.'

* * *

Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley do not argue as much anymore. They now work together in silence mostly, but occasionally they'll begin talking about things I do not know about. They work in companionable silence.

After looking for most of the day, they finally give up and return to the parlour. There they start thinking about other options. Eventually, though, they stop. Ginny Weasley and Rachele go to the kitchen and begin making something, while Draco Malfoy and Darren stay in the parlour. Darren reads a book, and when Draco Malfoy catches sight of it, he sneers.

"Reading Muggle fiction again?" he questions.

Darren just ignores him and keeps reading, pausing momentarily, though, to reply. "It's funny and interesting," he says. "It's about a butler who refuses to believe his employers aren't returning, and so he continues to look after the house. The cook and another servant also stay. The Muggles come up with good ideas sometimes. Other times they come up with shit, but this is good."

Darren starts reading again.

Draco Malfoy looks blank before a calculating look comes over his face. What is he thinking? Could he? No! But maybe...

I can't let them stay much longer. They need to leave! They need to let me get on with my work.

Where are the girls? They're coming back from the kitchen, coming down the hall. Could I? Two of them? I've never tried, but I could... No, no, it's too much of a risk, and who knows, they may leave tomorrow after not finding any of their 'hotspots'.

The girls place a plate down by the other two and pass them some cutlery. They eat in relative silence, each trying to make as little noise as possible. Ginny Weasley, however, breaks the quiet with her questions. She wants to know what they are going to do now. Draco Malfoy tells her that all they can do is more searching and research.

They can search all they like. They'll never stop me!

* * *

They didn't really do anything for the rest of the night. They mostly sat around, reading and talking. It was nice, though. The other groups had always been so concerned about sorting the 'problem' out, but these people are much more relaxed.

Well, as relaxed as they can be.

The time goes quickly, so quickly, too quickly, and they are soon getting ready to sleep again.

Draco Malfoy stays up the longest. He has a candle lit and he is reading a book. He picks up the book Darren was reading earlier and looks between the two.

He, too, falls asleep eventually.

* * *

Draco Malfoy is the first up in the morning. As soon as he is awake, he begins shaking the others awake too.

He tells them to dress quickly and, while they do so, he tells them he thinks he knows what is going on. He has to confirm it, though.

Darren and Rachele were sent to the library. I don't know what for . Draco Malfoy wrote down the subject on a piece of paper, so I've no idea. While those two were going to the library, Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley were going to the very top, up to the attic.

I don't know what they are looking for. Both couples scramble about, searching in books and boxes. What do they want? There is nothing in the library, and there certainly isn't anything in the attic. The attic. Oh no, no, no, no!

Draco Malfoy smiles as he pulls out a single leather-bound book. He is about to speak, but stops as he hears the creaking, Ginny Weasley looks around and asks Draco Malfoy what is happening. He tells her to look at the book before going over to the door and yelling to Darren and Rachele. He calls them urgently and tells them to come to the attic quickly.

The urgent tone in his voice scares them, and they do what he says, dropping books to the floor and running. They barrel down the corridor and start climbing the stairs. Rachele isn't used to all the running. She stops and takes heavy breathes. Darren is concentrating so much on getting to the attic that he doesn't realise she has stopped.

My chance!

Darren notices that Rachele is not with him just as he was about to climb up the stairs into the attic. He turns around and pauses, hesitating, before casting a final look at the staircase and running back the way he came.

Yes! No one will ruin this for me! No one! Keep our home safe, Master asked. I will obey Master!

Darren rushes back, but stops suddenly as he sees the dust. He reaches down to touch and then—then there are two piles of dust.

I am obeying my Master. It is my duty!

Their names were Rachele and Darren. They did not matter.

* * *

Ginny Weasley's eyes widened as she read the book. She was reading it fast, her face growing horrified with every page. Draco Malfoy stood behind her, also reading . Why did he have to be there as well? Why can't he go and look for the other two?

Ginny Weasley tells Draco Malfoy that they have to leave, get out quickly. I agree! Leave!

Draco Malfoy refuses. He needs to know the whole story. Well, you can't! Leave now, Draco Malfoy, while I allow you to!

Stop it! Stop reading!

Their heads flick up at the groaning, but, nevertheless, they ignore the noise and keep reading.

_Dark Lord. After us. Taking children. Leaving country. _

They read some of it aloud. Are they trying to hurt—anger me?

_Hopefully be back. When Dark Lord gone. _

Cruel and heartless humans! Why do they taunt me? Stop and leave!

_Wards being attacked. Must leave now. It can look after itself. It has to._

"It's the house," Ginny Weasley yells. "There aren't any spirits. Draco we need to get out! We have to go now!"

Draco Malfoy looks around and speaks, but not to Ginny Weasley, though he does say her name.

"Ginny, they left the house and told it to keep it safe for them, to guard it for them. The house did what it was told," Draco Malfoy finishes, and closes his eyes tiredly.

Yes, Draco Malfoy! Yes! You understand? Do you? I did what I did. They left me behind, all alone. I was the one they left, and they haven't came back, but I'll be here when they do, because I promised! I promised!

Ginny Weasley asks Draco Malfoy what they have to do. Draco Malfoy looks at her and tells her nothing. They can't stop me.

At last! Someone realises. You can't stop me. I _promised._

Ginny Weasley doesn't look sure, but Draco says that's all they can do.

I can't be destroyed, you see, I've got all kinds of magical protection, the Master made sure of it.

Draco Malfoy puts the book back in the box and takes Ginny Weasley by the arm. He tugs her out of the door and down the staircase, all the way to the ground floor. When they get to the parlour, Draco Malfoy gets everyone's things packed away before leading Ginny Weasley outside.

She turns to him and mentions that there is no more creaking and groaning.

You're leaving, Ginny Weasley. I'm happy now.

They are walking along the path. Ginny Weasley wants to know why Draco Malfoy won't do anything. He says he can't. That the house will always win.

Ginny Weasley gives a humourless smile before repeating, "the house always wins". A tear trickles down her face and she recites the names of her companions.

I watch them walk away. At least someone now knows. Hopefully no one shall come back. I do, after all, 'always win.'

Their names were Draco and Ginny, and they don't argue so much anymore.

* * *

**This was written for a challenge, the guidelines;**

1. The story must feature **Draco and Ginny** as the prominent pairing.

2. The story must have a **minimum length of 1,500 words**.

3. The story must contain a following line of dialog: "**The house always wins**," OR "**The house always wins, [Draco/Ginny]**," and it must be spoken by one of the two.

4. **The story must be betaed.**

**This story had to be beta'ed and indeed it was, I'd like to thank Boogum for making it, _a lot_, better and SP&G-good.**

**Reviews are welcome, but no flamez babez! i'm hott enough as it is.**


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